Captain America: The Winter Soldier – just another sequel
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The formula
'The Winter Soldier', regardless of his star billing along Captain America in the title, is just window dressing. The real plot here is about S.H.I.E.L.D – the espionage agency headed by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) – the terrorist team Hydra, and how Steve Rogers (aka Captain America played by Chris Evans) becomes a fugitive of the government when he learns about an intelligent, and quite deadly, piece of weaponry.
He has some friends in the mix too: Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and ex-Pararescueman Sam Wilson (a very charismatic Anthony Mackie), with a brief supporting role by Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders).
The action in Winter Soldier doesn’t skim on the big bucks, as buildings and cars topple whenever enemies target Steve and company. The screenplay, by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, is unapologetic about public damage – or the overbearing, custom-fitted espionage subplot.
When they speak – which is one-third of the movie – Steve, Natasha and Sam, are engaging. And they should be too, because we’ve seen them (not counting Mackie) on-screen too many times in different movies to not care. This would also explain why there’s very little character development in the movie, or why the actors aren’t pushing their performances.
The final word
Despite little originality in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, there’s not much going against it. Being an obligatory sequel in a much bigger thread of Marvel movies, the movie is made with the intention of being likeable, undemanding and acceptable.
Released by Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Pictures, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is rated PG-13 featuring usual super-heroics.
Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo; Produced by Kevin Feige; Written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely; Cinematography by Trent Opaloch; Edited by Jeffrey Ford and Matthew Schmidt; Music by Henry Jackman.
Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Hayley Atwell, Toby Jones, Robert Redford and Samuel L. Jackson.